Chevron says Korean JV refinery project on track
SAN ANTONIO, March 21 (Reuters) - A $1.5 billion project to boost the heavy crude processing capacity of Chevron Corp.'s(CVX.N) joint venture refinery in Yeosu, Korea, is on schedule for completion by the end of the year, the company's global refining chief said on Wednesday.
The 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) GS Caltex refinery will able to process an additional 55,000 bpd of heavy crude into light and midgrade diesel when the construction is complete and the machinery on-line, said Jeet Bindra, president of Chevron Global Refining.
GS Caltex is a 50-50 joint-venture between GS Holdings Group and Chevron.
Chevron continues talks with Indian refiner Reliance Industries to expand Chevron's investment from 5 per cent to 29 percent of Reliance Petroleum Ltd., which will operate a 580,000 bpd refinery under construction next to Reliance Industries' 650,000 bpd refinery in Jamnagar, India, Bindra said.
The new refinery is scheduled to begin operating in December 2008 and Chevron likely won't make a final decision on the additional investment until sometime in the first half of 2009, he said during an interview at Hart's World Refining and Fuels Conference.
"There is no deadline," Bindra said. "We will make the decision after the refinery has started up."
The deal between the two companies would include joint upstream and downstream projects, he said.
Chevron, which is based in San Ramon, Calif., also is weighing a 200,000 bpd expansion of its 330,000 bpd refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Bindra said. A decision on the expansion is expected next year.
